I hope someone has an idea of what is going on with my Oscar??
He does not seem to be able to swim to the bottom of his tank, spends alot of time at the top of his tank with his fin sticking out of the water and as a result he is getting fungus growing on that fin.
He is not really eating much at all.
I have tried internal and external treatments with not much luck so far.
Can anyone tell me if they have any idea of what is wrong with him and a possilbe treatment?

What tank size do you keep your Oscar in? What are the water parameters -e.g. Temp, pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrate, GH, KH? What type of filtration do you have?
Please let the experts here have that info, so they can help you
This is a great forum for Oscarkeepers, I wish I could be of more help, but I'm a newby too.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Thanks for your reply.
Here are some answers to your questions.
My Oscar is in a 1.5ft tank
Temp is around 25 or 26
I am using a power head filter
I have tested the PH and levels are ok (Neutral)

I hope this extra info helps.

Am i right that you are saying the tank is 1 and a half feet in lenght. If so this is the worst possible tank you can keep an oscar in.I would return it to the shop asap as it cant live there. an oscar will need a min of 4 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet and thats for 1 fish. If I have mis understood, Please post size again. By the look of your pic to the left the tank is far too shallow and this will be your problem if this is the tank the oscar is kept in. I dont mean to sound harsh but these conditions are just impossable to work, If i locked you in a car boot this is how your fish will feel. 2nd if I have got the tank sizeing wrong?? is the fish upright and maintaining an upright swim pattern in the water, Is it keeping balance?? whats the size,how long has it been like this??dose it have a swollon bellie?? Please get back asap

I have to agree with what Marcus has said already. Your tank is just not big enough for an Oscar. Oscars can reach well over 12 inches in length, that's not much smaller than your tank. Ph sounds good, however, you need to give us readings for ammonia, nitrite, and ph.

Having said all of this, the best advice I can give you is to re-home your Oscar, or get a bigger tank now. We didn't say how big your Oscar was. Keeping a large Oscar in such a small tank will mean you wait be able to keep the water in good condition, there just is not enough of it. You would probably have to carry out a water change every day which will probably cause stress to the fish.

I really can't see you keeping your Oscar healthier than such a small tank. I fully appreciate that getting rid of it would be very hard to do but I'm sure you've got its best interests at heart.

Thank you VERY much for your information, I know that sometimes you have to be a bit harsh to be honest.
I have moved my Oscar to a 4ft tank, did it last night.
He appears to be much happier this morning, I just hope he survives (I think he will).
I only had him in a smaller tank for a short while but he is a large Oscar, I did not realise that the tank was too small for him.
FYI - the pic is another Oscar in a 4ft tank, he is a very healthy Oscar and the tank only looks too shoallow cause he has piled all the gravel to one end of the tank, other end of the tank has HEAPS of space with no gravel ... lol
Once again thank you very much for your advice, it has definitely helped.

Glad to hear that things sound a little better. We try not to be harsh, we only give information that we think is necessary, obviously sometimes that information is hard to swallow, especially if it means getting rid of your prized Oscar. Anyway, good luck with him, and we are always here if you need any advice or help

One more thing to add, the tank the Oscar was in is actually 3ft x 1.5ft, not quite as small as I first said.

If your oscar survives, re-home it. But sadly, I doubt it will. Do not feed him! He will continue to bob at the surface like that and his abdomen will swell. Eventually, he will tilt to his side for several days and look extremely bloated. Then he will die.

Best of wishes,
Art

Still, it's too small. But a lot better than a 1.5 ft tank!

Wait, sorry, i hadn't read some of your earlier posts. Glad he's doing better, sometimes you can catch it and stop it early on.

Good luck,
Art

If you do decide to keep your oscar Please, Please, seek advice on tank size, filter, and how to keep your water in good condition ASAP. All the info you need will be here on the site, but if you cant find it, ask, We will all help and point you in the right direction. the oscars a great fish but dose need a little more care because he will grow large, very fast and needs a fair amount of food. this is why he needs a large tank and you will need a understanding on water conditions and how to keep them right for your fish to be happy. Try to get yourself a bigger tank 1st, with a filter to match the tank size. If this is not possible why not try smaller fish?? please dont be put off . Everyone makes mistakes at 1st, I lost 2 very nice fish when I started out but now have 4 very happy oscars ( I hope) stick around on the site and pick up all the tips you need and maybe help others from making mistakes one day. Good luck